Prof. em. Eberhard Lämmert †

Eberhard Lämmert, born on September 20th, 1924 in Bonn, died on May 3rd, 2015 in Berlin, was awarded his doctorate in 1952 in Bonn for his dissertation “Bauformen des Erzählens” which is considered to be one of the most important works of post-war German Studies in Germany. In 1960, he qualified as a professor for medieval and modern German philology in Bonn, followed by professorships in Berlin and Heidelberg. From 1976 to his retirement in 1992 he was professor for comparative literature at the Freie Universität Berlin. From 1976 to 1983 he was the university’s president. Guest professorships took him to Aarhus, Princeton, Cambridge, St. Louis and São Paulo, among other places.

Until 1999 he was director of the ZfL and chairman of the Centers for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (GWZ). From 1998 to 2004, he also acted as co-director at the Research Center for the European Enlightenment in Potsdam.

Eberhard Lämmert held the office of founding member of the board of trustees at the Einstein-Forum in Potsdam, the office of founding director and director of the Zentrum für Literaturforschung in Berlin as well as the office of director at the Research Center for the European Enlightenment in Potsdam. Furthermore, he was president of the The German Schiller Association (1988–2002). He was board member and chairman of the Deutscher Germanistenverband (1964–1976), reviewer at the German Research Foundation (DFG) as well as a member of the board of trustees and board member of the German Academic Exchange Service (1970–1999). From 1997, Lämmert was member of the PEN Centre Germany. He received honorary doctorates from the universities of Bonn and Potsdam. In 2010, he was awarded the honorary membership of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences in recognition of his extraordinary lifetime achievements in science.

Obituaries:

• Sigrid Weigel: In memoriam Eberhard Lämmert. Obituary for the founding director of the ZfL Eberhard Lämmert, in: Bericht über das Forschungsjahr 2014. Jahresbericht der Geisteswissenschaftlichen Zentren Berlin, ed. GWZ Berlin, 11–12
• “Ein unvergesslicher Mentor und Lehrer.” Weggefährten und Schüler zum Tod von Eberhard Lämmert anlässlich der Trauerfeier am 12. Mai 2015. With contributions by: Peter-André Alt, Klaus Scherpe, Sigrid Weigel, Jürgen Kocka, Hartmut Eggert, Irmela von der Lühe, Lothar Müller, Claudia Schmölders, Oliver Lubrich
• Petra Boden und Jörg Schönert: Eberhard Lämmert zum Gedenken. Auch ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Literaturwissenschaft seit 1950, in: literaturkritik.de, 20 May 2015
• Lothar Müller: Aufbruch in die Weltliteratur. Der Germanist Eberhard Lämmert ist gestorben. Ein Redner von Rang, unermüdlich als Zuhörer, in: Süddeutsche Zeitung, 4 May 2015
• Friedmar Apel: Respekt vor dem Poeten. Zum Tod von Eberhard Lämmert, in: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 5 May 2015
• Peter-André Alt: Zum Tod des Germanisten Eberhard Lämmert. Ein Diplomat der Literatur, in: Tagesspiegel, 5 May 2015
• Winfried Menninghaus: Docta elegantia. Eine Laudatio auf Eberhard Lämmert – erneut veröffentlicht nach seinem Tod, in: literaturkritik.de, 5 May 2015
• Radio talk with Marcel Lepper (Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach): Bauformen des Erzählens. Zum Tod des Germanisten Eberhard Lämmert, in: Deutschlandradio Kultur, program: Fazit, 4 May 2015
• Press release by the Freie Universität Berlin, 4 May 2015
• Press release by the Deutsches Literaturarchivs Marbach, 4 May 2015